Organisations help preserve ancient Welsh woodland

The UK’s largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), has teamed up with the Environment Agency Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and Flintshire County Council to protect areas of ancient woodland on land managed for shooting on two farms in North Wales.

The project, run under BASC’s Green Shoots conservation programme, has seen more than 25 hectares of ancient woodland fenced against uncontrolled stock grazing. Additional lengths of hedgerow have also been planted.

Ian Danby, BASC’s head of biodiversity projects, said: "This project provides benefits for everyone involved. The game shooting syndicates will gain from improvements in the woodland, providing better cover for game birds and new areas to place feeders. The farmers benefit from better fencing and hedgerows. The work will also help the Environment Agency for Wales to meet targets for improved water quality because fencing will exclude stock from waterways in the woodland. The extra hedges will help CCW to meet its targets for improving connections between habitats. Funding from our partner organisations has made this important work possible."

David Edwell, North Wales area manager, Environment Agency Wales, said: "BASC’s Green Shoots programme is excellent and the Environment Agency is pleased to support their work, we look forward to conservation work of this kind going from strength to strength in North Wales."

People who shoot spend £250 million on conservation work every year. BASC’s Green Shoots programme is designed to help shoots to carry out work which will best improve their local environment and habitats.